Zero Waste Postpartum Essentials. New Mum Self Care.

When you pregnant and getting ready for your tiny newborn the shopping, collecting and getting everything perfect is one of the most fun bits about being pregnant. Or maybe that just from the perspective of someone that has had the “nesting hormones” kick in. Everyone will have advice about “what you should be buying” for baby. They may even have essential advice for you as a new Mum, I’ve covered those “New Mum Essentials” too. But what about the things people don’t like to talk about in a busy cafe? The things they might not want to warn you you’ll need incase the scare you about birth and the after care you’ll need.

I remember a few days after a gave birth ringing my best friend (who was due to give birth a week after) to run to the shop and buy ALL the sanitary products!!! “Literally go buy everything!! And buy a waterproof cover for you bed while you at in!” Actually my Mother in law warned me to protect the bed, I just laughed and said it would be fine.

So this in the list for you postpartum essentials after a vaginal birth. It’s not a list to scare you but just to be ready to make yourself as comfortable as possible after you’ve pushed a small human out and your a little battered and bruised.

Zero Waste post birth essentials.

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Pin. New Mum and newborn. “Zero Waste Postpartum Essentials”.

Cloth pads are a post birth essential.

Okay so you might want to buy some heavy duty disposable pads for the first few days because you’ll go through a lot and may not want to buy enough just to see you through these days and then never need them again but I highly recommend having some cloth ones for the weeks of lighter bleeding your get afterwards, you’ll be able to use these for period in the future so it’s not a waste. I never realised how uncomfortable disposable pads can be, only ever wearing them for short periods during my period, usually opting for tampons. But after days and days or wearing them you realise just how sweaty and yukky you get, even when changing them super regularly. This doesn’t help when you want your sore, beaten bits post child birth to be as dry as possible if you have had to have stitches. When I switched to cloth pads a week post birth it was like a soft cuddle on my toosh and what a relief. Seriously what a relief. My favorite are from Baba and Boo or for when your bleeding is light these liners from EarthWise Girls.

Period Pants to protect from excess bleeding.

Okay so here’s an awful story. Sorry for the “too much information” but day two post birth we walked the short walk to Mat parents, it was lovely to get out for some fresh air, the boys were being dropped off there so they could stay the night while we got to grips with our newborn but we all wanted see the boys and let them meet Reeva, so we went down to greet them and be fed some dinner. Everyone excited to meet baby, a get comfy on the WHITE sofa, (it’s all good I had about 3 pads in)…… nope not all good. The WHITE sofa!!! Luckily when I realised I made eyes at Mat’s Mum and sister who got it, they’ve both had babies and quickly wipped away any evidence. I was motified. Didn’t need to be of course. The next day Mat’s Mum whispered to me that we were stain free.

Solution, were period pants too. You’ll use them for future periods but you’ll feel so much more comfortable, even just around the house or in bed with the extra protection and it means you don’t have to wear those awful plastic disposable things, which aren’t going to help with you feeling a little more normal. I find Cheeky Wipes range of period pants really reasonable and their a company pretty local to me. Modi Bodi do a maternity range and I love my WUKA sets.

Nipple Balm.

For the breast feeding Mum’s out there your going to want to protect those nipples in the early stages of breastfeeding. When I had my daughter the midwives recommended Lansinoh, which I used and swear by. A revelation was that I’ve now found Lansinoh do an organic version in a glass jar!!!! The annoying part is I cannot find anyone selling it in the UK. Here is the Lansinoh Organic Nipple Balm for my American readers.

Soothe your Burning Bits after a vaginal birth.

Coming home from the hospital I couldn’t believe how well I felt. Day 1 at home with our baby I was keen to get out for a walk and walked to Mat parents for some food I felt fine. Day 2 we walked to the local shop and by the time I got home down below felt a little sore. Day 3 we strolled to the end of the road and I could barely walk. Maybe it was the drugs still in me system, maybe it was adrenaline, maybe it took a few days for the swelling to come out properly, whatever after the first couple of days I sure knew about it. A few days later the stitches I has were itching and driving me mad beyond belief. Here’s a few things that helped…..

Pop some Aloe Vera Gel on a pad. Pop the pad in the freezer for a little while. Pop it in your knickers and let the cooling freshness sooth you. Worked a treat. These reusable cooling pads would also do a great job if your not sure about aloe vera. Simple freeze the pads and pop them in the washable covered then into your pants.

Another tip my best friend recommended to me was to make sure your dry down there after a shower. A cool hair drier, a fan, lightly towel dry or simply sitting in a very un-glamorous position on the side of the bath to let it air dry will helps massively!!!! Seriously having a baby left me in all types of un-glamorous positions, see this extra one as I moment of calm and quiet while your still in the bathroom alone.

Keep a little jug in the bathroom.

This one came from the consultant after she stitched me back up. She said wiping when I went to the toilet might be a little sore so her advice was to keep a little jug next to the toilet, when I went to the loo fill it with clean cool water from the stink and pour it over my bits instead on wiping. Then pat dry with some tissue or some soft cloth wipes. Or again, sit for a minute and let the air do it’s thing.

I cannot tell you what a great tip this was. Cool water was soothing and made me feel nice and clean.

Keep some spares in the bathroom.

Like I said before accidents can happen. You might fluctuate bleeding in the first few days. With people there holding the baby while you pop to the bathroom make things as easy and embarrassment free as possible and keep a little stash of spare undies in the bathroom. A little wet bag too to pop any blood stained ones in the wash. Odds are your partner is doing all the washing at the moment to help out and it will save them seeing it all. Silly right? Considering we’ve just given birth in front of them and they’ve seen it ALL but hey, I still didn’t want to pass him bloody undies and I’m sure many of you will feel the same. Your cloth pads can go in their too if your using them.

Lastly, A Good Book, Audio books downloaded and netflix ready.

Look as a new Mum your ready to be busy, busy, busy and you will be.. soon. The first newborn weeks however can be… well a little boring. And that’s okay. People are desperate to come and see you but won’t and shouldn’t stay to long. You won’t be able to walk too far or do too much for a little while weather you’ve had a C-section or a vaginal birth. If you’ve got an older child, hopefully they are being kept well entertained by Grandparents and Dad for some of the day and your left… Well holding the baby. Resting, getting to grips with feeding. Newborns, they actually sleep quiet a lot. So much of your day could and should be spent on the sofa.

Then there’s the night feeds. You’ll either want something to entertain you or want something to keep your awake. That where the audio books came in for me. I could put my headphones in while feeding and wouldn’t disturb Mat while he was sleeping. (Damn him for getting back to sleep).

The movies, Netflix series and a good book came in most evenings when I was cluster feeding for hours on the sofa (something else newborns like to do). I found having good things for as both to watch together made it feel like we were still getting a little “us” time too. Even if there was like little human attached to my boob at the same time.

You might think it’s silly to think about this while your pregnant as a form of postpartum care but rather than just putting something random on or searching through Netflix for hours for something to watch I think it’s nice to have something to look forward too. Or have a book you’ve wanted to read for ages to hand. It’s a little something for you. You can thank me at 3am when your reaching for that audio book you didn’t think you’d need.

Hannah xx